


To Live the Love They Left Behind

by RegalRayne



Series: OQ Prompt Party 2020 [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, OQ Prompt Party 2020 (Once Upon a Time)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:20:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25727320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RegalRayne/pseuds/RegalRayne
Summary: for OQ Prompt Party 2020: using prompt #5 Regina can see Robin’s Ghost but he can’t speak back to her, Prompt #68 Regina visiting Robin’s grave, and prompt #213 Laying down a flower at a grave.
Relationships: Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Robin Hood
Series: OQ Prompt Party 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1862731
Comments: 6
Kudos: 3





	To Live the Love They Left Behind

Storybrooke’s Cemetery. A place Regina never thought she could find solace. A bouquet of gladiola and carnation clutched in her hands. Despite today being a busy Wednesday morning, it was quiet here. No one in this town ever visited this graveyard anyway. Regina took a deep breath, stepping out from her car, and pushed the gate open.

The grave she was about to visit located on the far end of the cemetery, so of course, it took her a while to get there. Regina always enjoys this moment of peace whenever she visits, but she was not going to lie either – it is still hard to set her foot here. Harder, if she had to be here alone.

_In loving memory,_

_Robin Hood_

_The world was better because he was here,_

_The world’s loss is Heaven’s gain._

Regina stared blankly at the headstone before her. She chose the words herself, which she was proud of. The epitaph describes him at its finest. Regina crouched down and laid the bouquet on his grave, running her hand on his headstone, then rested her head upon it as if it was his shoulder she used to lean against.

“Hello, thief. I miss you.” Regina left out a huff. “I know you’re somewhere up there in heaven. There’s no way your soul obliterated like that, right? I know Hades lied.”

“I miss you, Robin. Terribly. I am so sorry if often I cried over you. Things were easier when you are here.” She bit back the tears, “Roland’s fine. He is an angel – we both know that. You raised him so well, Robin. He misses you too. Good for him, he didn’t cry as much as he used to be. Unlike me.”

Regina left out a shaky breath. Accepting that he was not here with her, that was a hard pill to swallow indeed.

“Henry also misses you. Thank you for being such a great father figure to him. He looks up to you a lot and Roland adores him so much. They get along so well, like brothers. I wish you were here to see our sons.”

Regina paused to gather her breath. She made a pact to herself for not crying today. Too many tears had shed. Robin would never want this. He would have never wanted Regina to lose herself because of him. She should have stopped with the crying, yet she couldn’t.

“I know this is probably just wishful thinking. I hope I can see you one last time. We didn’t have the chance to say goodbye.”

She leaned closer, and the stone felt cold under her touch. Regina hates this feeling. Helpless, there was nothing she could do that can bring back the dead. She hates how her heart always longs for a kind of support that only he can provide. She wanted to move on; she got to. Only it is easier said than done.

She was far off-track until she sensed someone is watching. Her guard was up. When Regina was well aware of her surroundings, she thought she was hallucinating. She knows she wasn’t drunk, nor she ever did day drink. She had to blink a few times to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.

It is him. Her Robin. He was standing there right in front of her.

“How—I must be dreaming, right?” Regina pinched her arm, it hurts. Proof that she was not dreaming.

He smiled. Those dimples, it only belongs to him. It is him. Exactly like how she remembered him. What is this? Is she standing face to face with his.. _ghost_? Regina had a lot to say. She wanted to kiss him, to hug him, to do whatever she wished she could do. Then this moment came, she could do nothing but frozen at the spot.

 _I missed you_ was all she can utter.

He nodded knowingly. Something about his eyes is always understanding, never judges. There is always love in his eyes. It just simply never fades – even when they are worlds apart, quite literally.

“This is real, right? I know it is.” She laughed bitterly. “You look great. You’re not in any pain, aren’t you?”

Robin simply answered by shaking his head. And of course, there is that smile again.

“Seeing you here, I know you haven’t been able to move on. Maybe I should try to rebuild my life, learn how to live with the grieve. I don’t want to be the reason you’re trapped. I should have done it months ago. I am so sorry, Robin. I’m sorry I hold you back.” Regina had no idea where these words came from. She just had the urge to blurted them out.

“I just wanted to say goodbye. Now I know you are okay, maybe it’s time for me to learn to let you go; to help you to rest easy. That is all I ever wanted.”

Robin slowly walked her way, closing the gap in between. He put his hand on her cheek and made Regina shivers. It was cold. It didn’t feel like what it used to be. Something uniquely belongs to him had gone, which brought tears into her eyes. She leaned on to his hand, biting her lower lip. He never stopped smiling. She tried to take another look at him before shutting her eyes. Regina had no strength left to embrace the uncertainty.

“Goodbye, _thief_. I’ll see you in another life. Promise me you’ll wait.”

It was the solitary silence that made her open her eyes. Robin wasn’t there anymore. She should be feeling sad or disappointed, even mad at the world – but she didn’t. Her heart was blooming love. She finally gained the serenity and tranquility she had been seeking for ages. Looking up to the sky, Regina put up the biggest smile in months. Suddenly it looks clearer; cloudless and blue. She knows he will be somewhere out there, waiting for her to run back into his arms. They are destined to be together. For better or for worse, in sickness and in health, in life nor in death.


End file.
